We are thrilled to present VAN 100 – the 100th issue of The Visual Artists’ News Sheet – which coincides with the 40th anniversary of Visual Artists Ireland this year. For these reasons, we are celebrating the organisation’s origins in sculpture, with this special issue. Central to VAN 100 is a specially commissioned survey, Four Decades of Irish Sculpture, profiling significant sculptural works from the last 40 years.
In addition, we present a series of Artist Interviews between artists at different career stages, with the aim of generating expanded discussion on the nature of Irish sculpture. This issue also features profiles of some of the country’s main Sculpture Centres and an extensive series of Columns. Paula Murphy outlines Ireland’s main sculpture collections, while Karen Downey introduces the upcoming Sculpture Dublin programme. We also have archival insights from NIVAL and the Barry Flanagan Estate, while current postgraduate research is discussed by Chloe Austin and Audrey Walshe.